Sweetwater received a U.S. post office in 1879. The Texas and
Pacific Railway started service in 1881, with the first train
arriving on March 12 of that year, beginning Sweetwater's long
history as a railroad town. To encourage the railroads, Sweetwater
increased its water supply by building a small town lake in 1898,
and three larger lakes thereafter. Construction began on the Kansas
City, Mexico and Orient Railway in 1903. Sweetwater became a
railroad town, with businesses and homes built along the rail line.
Rail passenger service was discontinued in 1969.

Gulf Refinery operated
there from 1929 to 1954, and at one time the town was a large
telegraph center. The International Harvester Company operated a
factory in Sweetwater from 1920 to 1950. Gypsum plants, apparel
manufacturers, cement plants, cotton compresses, a cottonseed oil
mill, and packing companies were among the nearly 250 businesses
operating there from the 1970s. Many still operate today. Sweetwater
remains a production hub for cotton, oil, and cattle. The population
of Sweetwater has remained steady between 11,000 and 13,000 since
1940.

At Sweetwater during
World War II, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) were trained
under the direction of the famed aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran at
Sweetwater's Avenger Field. These WASPs were the first women to fly
American military aircraft. The military airstrip closed abruptly at
the end of the war, but pilots flying over Sweetwater can still land
at Avenger Field – the Sweetwater Airport (SWW). The National WASP
WWII Museum is located at Avenger Field.The WASP women were not
recognized for having served in the armed forces until 1977, when
U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona and Colonel Bruce Arnold,
late son of General Hap Arnold, persisted in obtaining their
official recognition as military veterans. In 1970, the field became
the site of Texas State Technical College in Sweetwater.

Sweetwater also has a
Pioneer Museum, with display rooms depicting the lives of early
settlers with extensive photograph files, farm and ranch exhibits,
Indian artifacts, and WASP exhibits.

Sweetwater has a
hospital (founded 1976), an 18-hole golf course (opened 1958), a
local newspaper (founded 1881), a municipal auditorium (whereh Elvis
Presley once performed), a historic renovated movie theater, and a
large public swimming pool, as well as public fishing and
recreational facilities at Lake Sweetwater.

Sweetwater High School
has a rich tradition in amateur sports. SHS's football teams play in
the Mustang Bowl, built in the 1930s by the CCC. Sweetwater's
football tradition has produced 627 wins, fourth-most all-time in
Texas class 3A rankings. Football legend Sammy Baugh played for
Sweetwater in the Mustang Bowl, and is a member of the UIL All
Century Team.Kathleen Darnell won the 1927-1928 (all schools) State
Championship in tennis. Walter Romine won the 1961-62 3A Tennis
Singles Championship and Fred Scott and Mike Boles won the 1971-1972
3A Doubles Championship. In 1979-80, Sylvia Layfield and Connie
Weber won the State 3A Doubles title. In golf, Sweetwater won
back-to-back 3A State Golf Championships in 1971-72 and 1972–73,
with Scott Morgan winning the 1971-72 3A Individual state title.
Sweetwater again won the 3A State Golf Championship in 2000-2001.
Sweetwater won the Texas 4A State Football Championship in 1985,
beating Austin Westlake and then Tomball to claim the title.
Sweetwater's girls basketball team competed in the 1984-85 4A State
Championship game against Waco Richfield. SHS basketball star Nicole
"Nikki" Heath was a starter on Texas Tech University's 1993 National
Championship team. In track and field, Sweetwater won the 1983-84
Girls 4A State Team Championship and the Sweetwater's Individual
State Champions:

Parts of the south side
of Sweetwater were devastated by an estimated EF3 tornado that swept
through town early in the morning of April 19, 1986.

Sweetwater is the center
of the Western Hemisphere's leading wind power generation region. It
is sometimes called the "Wind Turbine Capital of Texas", which does
not regulate wind power. About 1,330 direct wind-related jobs were
created in Nolan County alone (in 2009), with almost $18,000,000 in
annual landowner royalties and over $12,000,000 in annual local
school taxes (2007).

The world's largest
rattlesnake Round-Up has been held annually by the Sweetwater
Jaycees on the second weekend in March since 1958.

According to Tom
Henderson, a member of the Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce Board of
Directors:

"If you're bored here, it's
your own fault."

Areas Served

These are
some of the areas Texas Satellite Solutions
serves. Our Headquarters is in
Abilene, Texas,
but we travel the State of Texas installing DISH Network.
For
extensive home theater projects we will travel
the entire Country. Contact us today or come to
our Abilene, Texas location.